Jacob vosburgh



J. VOSBURGH.

FLOOR AND PARTITION THIMBLE.

O 481 538 a`OtOntOd Jul; 1, *1890.

lunlllllllllllb ML/OL W' have invented a new and useful ImprovementUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOBVOSBURGH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE N. O. NELSONMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FLOOR AND PARTITION THIMBLE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 431,538, dated July 1,1890. Application filed November 4, 1889. v Serial No. 329,237- `(Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JACOB VosBURGH, a' citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri,

in Floor and Partition Thimbles, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to thimbles such as are used to prevent injury towood-work by heat from steam-pipes passing through floors, ceilings, andpartitions,.and chiefly to that class of such thimbles which is adaptedto be lengthened or shortened, so as to iit within certain limits,whether the partition, wall, or the iiooring, joists, and ceiling, asthe case may be, are thick or thin.

The chief objects of my improvement are,

first, to lessen the number of necessary parts; second, to make itpossible to get an exact.` t, and, third, to so form the parts as tomake it easy to put them in place and fasten them together with theleast possible labor, and without making any opening in the floor orwall, except one just large enough to permit of the thimbles beinginserted.

Another obj ect whichI gain where the preferable form of my improvedthimble is used is a more perfect protection from fire than is obtainedwhere the old thimbles with which I am acquainted are used.

I attain the objects above mentioned by the mechanism illustrated by theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of mythimble in its preferred form in place with the steampipe passingthrough it. Fig. 2 is a view showing the two parts of the thimble inelevation, but detached from each other. The packing is shown insection.. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the thimble, the partsbeing united. Fig. 4 is a bottom end View 0fl the thimble.

Similar letters referto similar parts thron ghout the several views.

The thimble is tubular and is formed in two parts-A and B. A is largeenough at its inner end to receive the inner end of B.

a is a iiange or collar.

a' is a covering of asbestus.

a2 is a screw-thread on the inside of the part A.

b is a screw-thread on the outside of the inner end of B, adapted toengage with the screw-thread a2.

h is a flange or collar on the'outer endof B. b2 is a covering ofasbestus. h3 b4 are screw-holes.

lVhen the thimble is being screwed in place,

Alower part; but the positions of the parts may be reversed, if desired.

The iianges a and b are preferably formed integral with the part-s ofthe thimble to which they are respectively connected; but they may beformed out of separate pieces and attached to the thimble in any waydesired, but preferably so' as to turn with the connected part. Thecollars may, for instance, be'formed with a hole in the center andslipped over the inner end of the parts to which they are to beattached, and the outer end of such part may be so formed as to preventthe collars either turning or slipping off.

The thimble may be made of any fire-proof material. cover the necks ofthe thimble and the inner sides of the flanges with a substance which isa poor conductor of heat-such as asbestus-as it insures a more perfectprotection from fire but such covering is not essential. Thescrew-thread should preferably extend some distance out from the innerend of one of the parts, so as to permit of the thimbles being shortenedby screwing the parts B into the part A for some distance, if desired.

The thimble need not be attached in place by any outside fastening; but,if desired, screws may be passed through the holes h3 b4 and into theceiling d.

The parts are put in place as follows: A hole is made through the iioorand ceiling or the partition-wall, as the case maybe, through which thesteam-pipe is to pass, and the small end of one part of the thimble isinserted Where metal is used,'I prefer tok from one side and the smallend of the other part from the other side, and the two parts areattached together by screwing the inner end of one part into the innerend of the other until the fianges are brought into close contact withthe surfaces next thereto, asY shown in Fig. l. After the thimble is inplace the steam-pipe C is passed through it. It is preferably a loosefit, so as to permit air to pass around it through the thimble, as wellas for other purposes.

D, Fig. l, represents a floor, in which the improved thirnble isinserted.

d represents the upper side of the iioor, and d the ceiling.

The part D may also represent a partition.

It should be particularly noted that the part or section A hasinstanding threads a2, and that the threaded and unthreaded partsthereof are equal in diameter, and that the part or section B hasoutstanding threads b, and. that the said threads b engage within thesection A above the instanding threads (t2, so that the lower section Bcan be lifted in the section A without strain or breakage, thek twosections thus yielding or giving in order to shorten or lengthen thethimble, so that it may accommodate itself to the j ars or tremors ofthe parts of the floor or partition to which it is attached, as thethreads b can rise and fall in the spaces between the threads a2. Thiswould be impossible with two sections having regularly engagingscrewthreads. Moreover, the upper section A, being of equal diameterthroughout, can be more snugly fitted into its opening in the floor D,and requires a smaller opening therein than if it had outstandingthreads, and the smaller said opening is the better, as the uppersection is thefsupporting-section, which, if it had outstanding threads,must have its part there-I above enlarged in diameter. The lower seotionB has its lower end thus enlarged; but as it supports nothing, but isitself supported by the upper section, this is immaterial; also, as thethreads b engage in the broad spaces between the threads a2 (see Fig. 3)there is much less danger of binding than if the threads engaged in theordinary manner. Thus the two sections close together or move apart toaccommodate the thimble to the fluctuations of the floor and ceilingtherebelow or to two sections of a partition.

What I claim is- 1. A pipe-thimble composed of two parts or sections,the upper and wider section being provided with instanding threadsspaced a sufficient distance apart, and the lower and narrower sectionbeing provided with outstanding threads of less width than the spacesbetween the thread ofthe upper section and arranged to engage internallybetween the threads of the upper section, substantially as specified.

2. A pipe-thiinble composed of an upper section 'of equal diameterthroughout, provided with an outstanding circumferential flange at itsupper end to rest on the floor when the section is inserted in anopening therein and having instanding screw-threads spaced a suitabledistance apart, and a lower section having an outstandingcircumferential iiange on its lower end and provided with outstandingscrew-threads of less width than the spaces between the-threads of theupper section, the lower surfaces of which engage on the upper surfacesof the instanding threads of the upper section and permit the twosections to close in or open out, and thus automatically adj ust thelength of the thimble, substantially as specified.

Witness my hand this 31st of October, 1889.

JACOB VOSBURGH.

Witnesses:

C. D. MooDY, D. W. C. SANFORD.

